Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 28, 2016 - Jan. 28 - St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
[Wisdom 7:7-10, 15-16 and Matt 23:8-12,]"Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me." [Wisdom]
The feast of St. Thomas Aquinas is an important one for Dominicans and the scriptures assigned for the day are to be found in the section of the lectionary for saints. They may vary at Dominican locations because we have more options. The passage from the Book of Wisdom is one of the most beautiful hymns of praise to Wisdom that can be found in the Old Testament. It is singularly applicable to St. Thomas Aquinas.
Thomas joined the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) when the Order was still in its infancy. We were founded in 1216 and Thomas joined around 1244. By then members of the Order were teaching at the University of Naples, where Thomas first encountered the friars. His family opposed his decision and even kidnapped him to prevent him from joining. Eventually he was able to leave home and the rest is history - a long history because his writings are still considered part of any history of thought, philosophy or theological discourse.
His output was prodigious. He was known to dictate to as many as four secretaries at a time on four different topics. His life was devoted to teaching and he was famous in his own time. Needless to say, I refer to him from time to time in these reflections. The passage from Wisdom, quoted above, is exemplified in Thomas' teaching on law which one may find in his Summa Theologica I-II, Q.106, where he speaks of the "new law of Christ" as being nothing other than the Holy Spirit working in our hearts through faith in Christ. There is still published a kind of distillation of the "Summa" in a little book called MY WAY OF LIFE. I recommend it for its clarity and thoroughness. I invite all my Beloved Congregation to join with Dominicans around the world to celebrate Thomas' contribution to Christian faith and thought - a contribution that continues to give! AMEN
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